Dungeon Games Online: Crawlers, Roguelikes and Loot Runs
Updated
Dungeon games online send you through a maze of rooms to fight monsters, dodge traps and collect loot. They split into dungeon crawlers, where you explore and plan, and roguelike or roguelite runs, where each attempt plays out differently and ends when you fall. Below are the terms explained and games for each kind.
The terms in plain words
Wikipedia's article on the dungeon crawl describes heroes navigating a labyrinth while battling monsters, avoiding traps and looting treasure. Its article on the roguelike describes a role-playing style built around a dungeon crawl through procedurally generated levels, with permanent death, turn-based play and grid-based movement. Roguelites often keep permadeath and random generation but move away from strict turns and tiles, and many add upgrades that persist between runs.
| Term | What it means in play |
|---|---|
| Dungeon crawler | You explore a maze of rooms, fight monsters, avoid traps and loot treasure |
| Run | One attempt, from the start until you win or fall |
| Procedural generation | The game builds rooms or waves at random, so no two runs match |
| Permadeath | When your hero dies the run is over and you start again |
| Roguelike | A dungeon crawl built on random levels and permadeath, traditionally turn-based on a grid |
| Roguelite | Random runs with looser rules, often with upgrades that carry over |
| Loot | Weapons, armor and coins that monsters drop |
Turn-based and planned crawling
These games reward planning over reflexes.
- Claritas Dungeon Crawler RPG DEMO is a 2D turn-based dungeon crawler with no story, only party-building, skill fusion and tactical combat. Each hero in the roster has four unique abilities. On desktop, Z confirms, X cancels and the arrow keys move; on mobile a tap confirms and moves, and a swipe or two-finger tap cancels.
- Cave Crusade sends a knight into a cursed castle full of traps and monsters. You plan each move, avoid the traps, fight the creatures that guard the dark and find a way out. It plays with the mouse.
Action dungeons
Here you move and fight in real time, through caves, crypts and labyrinths.
- Mask of six Moons is a pixel-art action platformer. You dive through moon gates, battle monsters and loot weapons from Common up to the ultra-rare Phantom tier. There are 12 weapon types, and every weapon rolls random bonuses.
- Abysma Dungeon Story has a wizard descend into a dark abyss, using light to uncover hidden traps and enemies. A and D move, the left mouse button swings the sword and the right one casts light magic.
- 2D Dungeon has low-res graphics, three characters to choose from and different endings. You play with WASD and the mouse.
- Monsters Dungeon Battle pits you against the monsters of an abandoned dungeon. Upgrade your stats and collect classes such as wizard and archer.
- Cave Crawl sends an explorer through caves of traps, falling rocks, lava pits and monsters, collecting gems and power-ups. It plays with the arrow keys, or taps and swipes.
- Maze Tower sends two adventurers through 16 labyrinths to collect precious stones from towers guarded by traps and monsters. It has single-player and two-player adventure modes and a two-player racing mode.
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Roguelike and roguelite runs
In these games each run is a new build: you pick upgrades as you go, and a run ends when you lose. Games where the whole point is to outlast waves are also in survival games online.
- DungeonsQuest is a fast-paced 3D action roguelite. You survive waves of monsters, collect XP gems, level up and choose upgrades, combining abilities and weapons into a different build each run. It ends with a final boss, and WASD moves you.
- Slime Survivors is a simplified roguelite with endless waves, levels, achievements and artifacts. Its bosses drop powerful artifacts, and the enemies include slugs, skeletons, goblins and golems.
- Blob Hero puts a blob hero against endless waves. You choose basic skills and upgrade them to survive.
- Bounce Heroes mixes idle RPG, merge puzzle and roguelite action. Your hero fires a crossbow and uses bouncy balls dropped by fallen foes, and you choose from 3 cards each wave.
- Village Defense Battle calls itself an idle roguelite loot grinder. You drag a turret left and right, and steering shots through Upgrade Reward Gates lets you pick a roguelite option to shape the run.
- Dungeon Solitaire is a dark fantasy card roguelike: fight monsters, equip weapons, collect potions and survive dungeon rooms while you manage your health. You play it with clicks only.
More card games, from patience to battle decks, are in card games online.
Loot, gear and upgrades
Some dungeon games care less about the maze and more about what you carry out of it.
- Simple Loot Idle is a clicker where you equip your hero with the better loot from killed monsters and sell the worse pieces for money to upgrade.
- Hero Knight - Action RPG is pixel-art: beat monsters with your sword and spells, level up, collect gold and gems and buy equipment. Monsters and bosses can drop equipment, and each boss you beat gives the knight a new magic ability. Hotkeys A and S use the red and blue potions.
- Dungeon Miner - Idle Mining Game is a management game about a mine: craft weapons and tools, explore dungeons for valuables and blueprints, fight creatures and upgrade your gear.
- Merge Dungeon has your soldiers fight their way out past monsters that grow stronger. You upgrade the warrior's equipment to complete each battle and wait until you are ready for the boss attack.
Habits that get you deeper
- Treat a failed run as information. In a roguelike the run ends when you fall, so carry what you saw into the next one.
- Read every upgrade choice. DungeonsQuest asks you to combine abilities and weapons, Bounce Heroes offers 3 cards per wave and Village Defense Battle lets you pick an option at its reward gates.
- Plan the move in a turn-based crawler. Cave Crusade asks you to plan each move, and Claritas is about party-building and skill fusion.
- Watch your health. Dungeon Solitaire asks you to manage it, and Hero Knight keeps potions on hotkeys.
Dungeon games FAQ
What is a dungeon crawler?
A game where you explore a labyrinth of rooms, battle monsters, avoid traps and loot treasure. Claritas Dungeon Crawler RPG DEMO calls itself one and plays turn by turn.
What is the difference between a roguelike and a roguelite?
A roguelike is traditionally turn-based on a grid, with random levels and permanent death. A roguelite keeps random runs but is looser about turns and grids, and often lets upgrades carry over.
Are there roguelike card games online?
Yes. Dungeon Solitaire calls itself a dark fantasy card roguelike, and you play it by clicking.
Are there dungeon games for two players?
Maze Tower has two-player adventure and racing modes, with W, A, S, D for player one and the arrow keys for player two. More duels and co-op games are in the 2-player games category.
More quests and caves are in adventure games online and the adventure games category.
